The Orient Express

Without doubt the most famous train in history, the Orient Express has had a fascinating history from its very beginning, on October 4th 1883, right through to the present day – where it still exists as two completely different trains ! But more of that later. On that first October evening 125 years ago the steam-hauled luxury train, "L'Express d'Orient" carrying 40 passengers including King Charles of Romania and Sultan Abdul Hamid II (ruler of Turkey), left the Gare de Strasbourg (it was only later that the name was changed to Gare de l'Est) in Paris on its way to Munich, Vienna and on to Giurgiu in Romania, where the train, and the track, came to a halt – the passengers were then ferried across the Danube to Rousse in Bulgaria, where they boarded another train that took them across Bulgaria to Varna, on the Black Sea coast, and thence by a 14-hour sea voyage to Istanbul.

An extension was made a few years later but it was not until 1889 that the train began running all the way to Istanbul from Paris, without any change of trains. It ran until the outbreak of War in 1914. After the war the service resumed, but now used the newly-constructed Simplon tunnel under the Alps between Brig (Switzerland) and Domodossola (Italy). For many years it was the world's longest tunnel. Although trains continued to run on the original route, this new route was also used, serving Milan, Venice and Trieste and on to Istanbul via Belgrade. That service, known as the Venice Simplon Orient Express, continued until 1977, apart from a break during World War II. By the 1930s there were Orient Express trains running on three routes: Paris to Istanbul via the Simplon Tunnel; Paris to Istanbul via Budapest and Bucharest; and a new service from Paris to Athens via Budapest. It was during this period that the train gained its highest reputation for comfort and service and was regularly used by royalty, film actors and diplomats. A link to Calais was also introduced, connecting with London.

Its restaurant car had the highest reputation and dressing for dinner was de rigeur. Its sleeping cars were luxurious and service impeccable, especially in first-class. It was the train that inspired Agatha Christie to write "Murder on the Orient Express" after she had travelled on it to Istanbul in 1934, though that was not the name of the book at the time – it was called "Murder in the Calais Coach". Two years earlier Graham Greene had written "Stamboul Train" using the name of the city as it is pronounced in Turkey and in the USA the book was called, quite simply, "Orient Express", so Agatha Christie's book originally had a different name. It was made into a highly successful film as well. It was in the Hotel Pera Palas that she wrote much of it.

The blight of war once more descended on Europe in 1939 and the service again stopped, restarting in 1945, though the Athens leg had to be stopped as the border between Yugoslavia and Greece was not open. As the Iron Curtain fell across Europe in the years following the service continued to run but was no longer a through-train but involved a few changes as the communist countries insisted on using their own rolling stock. By 1962 the only service left was the Simplon Orient Express, though this was replaced in 1962 by a slower service, named the "Direct Orient Express" which ran daily between Paris and Belgrade; twice-weekly to Istanbul and Athens.

In 1971 the company that had been running the service all those years, the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, stopped operating carriages, though still supplied staff. 1976 saw the end of the Paris-Athens service and the last Paris-Istanbul service ran on May 19th, 1977. Airlines had largely replaced luxury train travel as the means of transportation for those with money – and that was before budget airlines. Yet a service with the name Orient Express continued until June 2007, though its route was gradually shortened – first as far as Bucharest, then Vienna. Today it still runs under its original name, but only between Strasbourg and Vienna, albeit every night. For real enthusiasts it is still possible to travel from Paris to Istanbul over the original route, but using four different trains – the trip takes about 60 hours.

In its 1930s heyday the timetable alone was a fascinating document showing that the train left Calais daily at 17.35, arriving Paris (Gare de Lyons) at 21.17; leaving Paris at 22.20 it sped through the night to Lausanne (6.26), Milan (12.15), Venice (16.00). On day three it passed through Bucharest at 21.45, Belgrade the next morning before 08.00, Sofia that afternoon at 16.30 and into Istanbul (Sirkeci) on day four at 07.20. There were then advertised connections for Ankara, Aleppo. Mosul, Baghdad and Teheran, though passengers for that would have had to cross the Bosphorous by ferry and catch the train from the Haydarpasa Station, on the Asian side of Istanbul. The journey from Teheran to Paris took six days.

In 1982 the Venice-Simplon Orient Express was started by James Sherwood, the chairman of Sea Containers Ltd, a shipping and hotel company. Sherwood was an avid rail fan and had bought some of the 1930s carriages at an auction in Monaco, lovingly renovating them before putting them in service between London and Venice, a service aimed at high-end leisure travellers. Over time the company acquired more Pullman carriages including sleeper cars and now operates (about weekly) between London and Venice.

For information on the VSOE, or to book, go to: www.orient-express.com.